Believing

How do I know that last night's Sopranos finale was good? The exhilaration I felt when the credits rolled last night stayed with me all day long.

I still think my take on the show's final scene was right, but from doing a fair amount of reading on the episode today, I see that there's another view of the scene that's at least as valid. Several people have argued that the sudden cut to black represents Tony getting killed. They back it up with quotes from the same conversations with Bobby that I referenced in last night's post. "You never know it's coming", said Bobby (quoting from memory again, I can't find an authoritative source for quotes from this episode), and Tony, asked what happens when you die, says "nothing, it all goes black and that's it" (ditto). There were other cues for this interpretation -- for a show that loves its symmetries (on its own terms, mind you), there's the fact that Phil Leotardo was killed in front of his family.

I find this reading plausible, but not persuasive. The extra layer of ambiguity it adds to the final scene only makes me love the finale more. I can't wait to watch it again.